Yet the strike settled it without any doubts, giving New York a 1-0 victory over visiting D.C. United on Sunday and a 2-0 aggregate win in the two-leg series to put the Red Bulls one step from the MLS Cup championship game.

It was the second straight year New York has beaten its I-95 rival in the Eastern semifinals, but it took 92 minutes to settle it for sure.

“It was something I was waiting for all game,” Wright-Phillips said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game, tight defense.”

The goal came on Wright-Phillips’ second chance within minutes as D.C. United pushed forward, needing a goal to force extra time. After D.C. keeper Bill Hamid stretched to push wide a chance by Wright-Phillips two minutes earlier, second-half substitute Gonzalo Veron fed the English forward and he dribbled around Hamid to score into an open net.

Crew 3, Impact 1: Kei Kamara scored his second goal in the 111th minute to lift host Columbus past Montreal, after they split the two legs 3-3. Ethan Finlay tied the series score 3-3 and gave Columbus a 2-1 lead in the 77th minute. The Crew will face New York in another two-game series starting Nov. 22 in Columbus.

FC Dallas 2, Sounders 1: Walker Zimmerman forced extra time with a 91st-minute goal and scored the clinching penalty kick for FC Dallas in the Western Conference series. FC Dallas won 4-2 on penalty kicks after three lead-changing goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation time and 30 scoreless minutes of extra time. The result after the first 180 minutes of the two-leg series was a tie in both the aggregate score (3-3) and away goals (1-1).

Timbers 2, Whitecaps 0: Fanendo Adi scored off a feed from Diego Valeri in the 31st minute and Diego Chara added the capper in second-half stoppage time, sending visiting Portland to the Western Conference finals for the second time in franchise history. The Timbers will face FC Dallas in the conference finals, with the first leg Nov. 22 in Portland.

Europe

Spain: Neymar scored a spectacular goal to help host Barcelona take the Spanish league lead as Real Madrid’s unbeaten start to the season was brought to an end with a 3-2 loss at Sevilla. Barcelona will take its three-point lead to Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the season’s first “clasico” match after the international break. Also, Antoine Griezmann scored three minutes into stoppage time give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon that lifted it into third place at four points back.

England: Yannick Bolasie and Scott Dann scored to give Crystal Palace a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield, handing coach Juergen Klopp his first loss in his seventh game in charge. Manchester City remained atop the Premier League despite being held to a 0-0 draw against last-place Aston Villa in Remi Garde’s first game in charge, as second-place Arsenal drew 1-1 against Tottenham in the north London derby.

Italy: Inter Milan and Fiorentina remained level at the top of Serie A after wins at Torino and Sampdoria, and Roma kept up the pressure with a 2-0 victory over Lazio in the capital derby. Fiorentina won 2-0 to remain ahead on goal difference after Inter recorded a third successive 1-0 victory from Geoffrey Kondogbia’s goal. Roma is a point behind, with Napoli a point further back after Gonzalo Higuain scored his ninth league goal of the season to help it beat Udinese 1-0.

Germany: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 14th goal of the season gave Borussia Dortmund a 3-2 win over rival Schalke in the Bundesliga’s 87th Ruhr derby. Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored twice for Schalke in the losing effort.

MLS playoffs

Conference finals

East: N.Y. Red Bulls vs. Columbus

West: FC Dallas vs. Portland

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